"The Memphis Blues" is a song described by its composer, W. C. Handy, as a "southern rag". It was self-published by Handy in September 1912 and has been recorded by many artists over the years.
Sheet music cover, 1912
Sheet music cover, 1913
William Christopher Handy was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musicians who played the distinctively American blues music, Handy did not create the blues genre but was the one of the first to publish music in the blues form, thereby taking the blues from a regional music style with a limited audience to a new level of popularity.
Handy in July 1941, photographed by Carl Van Vechten
Handy's birthplace in Florence, Alabama
Handy, ca. 1900, director of the Alabama Agriculture & Mechanical College Band
"The Memphis Blues" sheet music cover, 1913